Police interview owner of truck suspected to be involved in fatal hit-and-run

Police say the truck suspected in the fatal hit-and-run accident was found miles away from the home of the registered owner parked in a parking area of an apartment complex on Pumalo Street. No arrests have been made yet in the fatal hit-and-run of 2-year-old Asianae Thomas. COURTESY

Two-year-old Asianae Thomas was hit by a driver who was driving north on Mountain View Avenue on May 2 in San Bernardino. (Courtesy photo)

SAN BERNARDINO >> Police said Wednesday that they have interviewed the owner of the truck they suspect may have been involved in the May 4 hit-and-run accident that killed a 2-year-old San Bernardino girl.

“We have interviewed the owner of the truck, but there was not enough information to determine his involvement,” police Lt. Rich Lawhead said. “When it was found, it was backed into a parking stall up against a building and the license plate had been removed.”

The license plate was found inside the truck, which was found miles from the home where it’s registered, police said.

No arrests have been made in the case.

The truck owner told detectives it was parked so far away for mechanical issues, Lawhead said.

Police found the truck May 8 through a resident’s tip at the Tuscany Apartment complex in the 2200 block of East Pumalo Street, officials said.

Asianae Thomas, 2, who was at a birthday party at a home in the 2400 block of Mt. View Avenue on May 4, was struck by a vehicle when she darted from an inflatable jumper in the driveway across the street to the grassy island that separates the northbound and southbound lanes.

She died May 7, according to the San Bernardino County Coroner’s Office.

Witnesses said a black flatbed truck hit Asianae and kept going north on Mt. View.

On Tuesday, police took possible DNA evidence from the truck.

Police are asking residents near the scene of the hit-and-run who may have witnessed it or have security cameras on their property or video footage of the fatal incident to call Detective Devin Peck at 909-384-5664.